1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing device, and more particularly to an image processing device connected to a public telephone network.
2. Background Information
Image processing devices, such as copying machines and the like, that can facsimile transmit image data acquired thereby over a public telephone network are well known in the prior art.
An image processing device that has this type of facsimile transmission function is comprised of a fax modem that can facsimile transmit image data acquired by the image processing device.
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, if a business A moves into a three story building, and places a copying machine 10b on the first floor, a copying machine 20b on the second floor, and a copying machine 30b on the third floor, it will be necessary to provide each copying machine 10b, 20b, and 30b with a fax modem 60 so that each copying machine can facsimile transmit the image data acquired thereby.
However, providing each copying machine 10b, 20b, and 30b with its own fax modem is comparatively expensive and increases their initial installation costs.
In addition, if a fax modem 60 is provided for each copying machine 10b, 20b, and 30b, the fees for accessing the public telephone network KN will increase because the copying machines 10b, 20b, and 30b will all have to be connected thereto. In particular, it is quite wasteful to pay these access fees if the frequency at which facsimiles are transmitted is not very high.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4, connecting copying machines 10c, 20c, and 30c to a fax server 55 has been considered as a means of solving the aforementioned problems. This fax server 55 accepts image data from the copying machines 10c, 20c, and 30c and data processing devices 100, 200, and 300, and facsimile transmits this image data over the public telephone network KN.
However, providing a separate fax server 55 will increase the number of devices that a systems administrator has to manage. Moreover, separating the devices in this way will increase the cost of administering the system.